Hilton Niagara Falls 6361 Fallsview Blvd. Niagara Falls, ON Tel: (905)354-7887 Fax: (905)374-6707 Toll free - 1-800-339-5023
	Hilton Niagara Falls Lobby	View of American Falls	View of Horseshoe Falls

Manager: Paul Ford
Web site: www.hilton.com then type in Niagara Falls, Canada
You can tour the Hilton Web site to get a pretty good idea of that hotel and what it offers but the site doesn't focus on accessibility, so here we go!

Accessible rooms: 702, 703, 714, 803, 804 all non-smoking rooms and all in the South Tower.

Prices vary from season to season and one to four people can stay in one room for the same price. Children under 18 staying with their parents or grandparents are not charged for the room.

Featuring 516 rooms in 34 floors in two towers, the Hilton, Niagara Falls, overlooks the entire panorama of Niagara Falls. The hotel offers five "accessible"rooms. We visited room 702.

Extraordinary amenities and precautions: The hotel has a kit available for a person who is hearing impaired. Just ask and it will be installed in your room. Each room has a smoke detector and a fire alarm as well as a PR system to alert you to fire and evacuation procedures. The front desk keeps special files on people with disabilities staying in the hotel so they know where you are in the hotel in case of emergency. Using the PR system that runs through the entire hotel, you will be told what to do and where to go if there is an emergency. They will know you are in a wheelchair, scooter, blind or hearing impaired or unable to ascend stairs, if you tell them when you register.

Parking: There are five designated parking spots at the front of the main parking lot near the street. Each is approximately 12 feet (3.66 metres ) wide. The spot closest to the walkway into the front of the hotel is perfect for a side-opening ramped van as the walkway gives you an addition six feet or so. I used this spot with my side-loading Entervan when we visited this hotel for this Web site. Anyone with a rear-loading van would do fine as well.

Hotel Entrances: You can either go in the main entrance of the hotel or the North Tower door which is right off the parking lot. The North Tower door leads you past the pool area, the gift shop and the Lobby Bar and then to valet parking stand, concierge desk and the front desk. These side entrance doors are very heavy and locked from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. for security reasons.
The main entrance is covered and there is valet parking available if you don't want to have to look after your car while you are staying in the falls. All entrances are flat and the hotel can be easily accessed from the public sidewalk

The Lobby: There is a doorman always on duty and the automatic doors are kept closed during the winter months. I was on my scooter and the minute he saw me he undid the locking systems and I whisked through the two sets of double glass doors. The lobby is huge with smooth marble-like flooring throughout that is wonderful for a wheelchair or scooter. We explored the main floor before approaching the front desk and found a large gift shop, a beautiful pool, a small open lounge surrounded by trees that looks out into the street, the banks of elevators and then the valet parking desk, concierge and front desk.
The concierge told us that they occasionally had guests who were disabled and any problems had been solved. None had any trouble using the hotel facilities. We left her a complete list of all our service and trouble-shooting contacts. (See the category on this Web site.) She did say that she contacted the home care store we suggested for special aids and that people coming in with special needs should give her time to get what they need in place.

The concierge desk has a lowered section to accommodate seated wheelchair and scooter users, the front desk doesn't. There are two lowered pay phones in the lobby as well as a lowered ATM. The lobby washroom is not accessible.

Elevators, hotel halls and room entrances: The elevators feature braille on the outside and braille on the buttons inside. The one we used talked to tell us what floor we were on which was handy because I was on my scooter and facing the back of the elevator. I'm told all of the elevators are talking but the talking feature may not always be in service all the time. The buttons are low enough to be used from a seated position.

The halls to the rooms are 4'7" (1.39 metres,) at their narrowest and 6'4" (1.93 metres) at their widest. They are well-lighted and carpeted. The distance from the elevator is reasonable. It is not a long haul. The ice and soda machines are just down the hall a few doors but the area is very tight. I wouldn't do it alone in a wheelchair. If the door to the room closes on you, you might not be able to get back out again. I couldn't with my weak hands.

The doorway to the room is well-lighted, 34" wide (86 cm) and there is braille on the entrance of the room as well as raised numbers. The door opens with a lever handle. There is a lowered peephole as well. The door also has a security locking system on it that prevents someone from pushing it open on you but it will not stay open when you enter. There is also a ½"
high x 5 ½" wide (1.27 cm high x 14 cm wide) lip into the room which could stop a manual wheelchair. You might have to go into the room backwards.

Hotel Bedroom: Once in the room there is a light switch 4'5"(1.35 metres) from the floor which operates the light in the hallway. Also there were three other attractive, wrought-iron base lamps in the room but I was unable to operate any of them as they all have tiny slim turn knobs that I couldn't get a grip on. My normal-handed assistant could barely operate the one between the beds
The large by most standards room features two queen-sized beds. The beds are on legs so you could get a Hoyer under them There is also a desk with chair and telephone, an easy chair, and an armoire with remote color TV. The bedside table between the beds holds a radio/alarm clock, telephone and lamp. There is a garbage container near the desk. I'm told that the small furniture can be removed if you need more space to maneuver. There are no accessible rooms with adjoining rooms.

There are several easily accessible open plugs, 11" (28 cm) from the floor for recharging batteries or running aids.

There is no mini-bar in any of the Hilton rooms but a small fridge to keep drugs cold, etc. can be installed on request.
The thermostat in the room lets you control the heat and cooling. It is high, 5' (1.52 metres) from the floor but you could operate the little sliders with a pen or something if you were alone. There is also one opening window to connect you with real air. The view from the window is to die for. You have a complete panorama of the falls in front of you as well as the construction site of the new Casino Niagara.

There is a full-length mirror beside the main door and a large closet behind the main door. The cloths rod is 5'5" (1.35 metres) from the floor and there is no way a person seated could hang up their own clothes. There is a luggage rack in the closet and several spare blankets up on the shelf out of reach. There is also an ironing board and iron in the closet. The closet has lever handles on it.

Hilton Room 702 - 2 Queens	View towards window	Whirlpool tub, hand held shower	Tub is to left of toilet and counter	Sink on long counter

Bathroom: The solid, lever-handled bathroom door opens into the bathroom. There is no lip on the bathroom door. The door to the bathroom is 34" (86 cm) wide and the turning ratio from the hall is 47" (1.19 metres) or almost four feet. I had no difficulty getting my scooter in but I had to back out. A wheelchair would have an easier time because it isn't so long. There are high and low double hooks on the back of the bathroom door to hang things on.

At its widest the open space in the bathroom is 5'3" wide by 5'9" long (1.60 metres wide by 1.75 metres long). At its narrowest it is 4'6" (1.37 metres). It took some maneuvering to turn around in there but a normal-sized wheelchair would have ample room.
The round sink is 32 ½" (83 cm) from the floor and 4" (1.22 metres) from the edge of the counter. The taps are easy lever lift and swivel and there is room to get your knees under it. The counter is 7'6" (2.28 metres )long and has a full-width non-tilted mirror behind it. The area is well-lighted but there is no special lighting for makeup application. There is a hair dryer 5'4" (2.54 metres) to the right of the sink...too high for some seated guests. Two plugs are also located in this area and you'd want to use your own hair dryer on a cord if you were seated in a chair. There is a coffee maker, coffee, tea bags, sugar, cream and sugar substitute, mugs and glasses beside the sink. There is a weigh scale and garbage container under the sink. Soap, shampoo and lotions as well as tissues are on the other end of the counter.

Toilet: There is 44" (1.11 metres) between tub and toilet. The toilet is 15" (38 cm) from floor to top of the seat. You could transfer to the toilet from the side or the front. There is one grab bar over the back of the toilet. The toilet paper is within reach to your right when you are seated and there are two rolls going all the time.

Tub/Shower area: The tub is lovely if you can get in and out of a deep tub yourself. It is a single, 18" (46 cm) deep, whirlpool style with jets and no edge to sit on. There is a 3 1/2" (39 cm) lip on the far side and a small edge on the near side that could take a bath board. The hotel can supply a bath seat if one is requested ahead of time or anything else you need to accommodate you in this bathroom. There is a hand-held shower. If you had to sit down and couldn't get in or out of the tub by standing you could use a bath board across the tub and, seated backwards away from the taps, use the hand-held shower head to do your showering. The edge of the tub is only flat near the taps so you'd have to sit backwards to accommodate your legs.
There are two, 4' (1.22 metres) bars on the back of the tub area and one 2' (60 cm) grab bar on the far end. There is a bath mat on the edge of the tub and two bath towels on the back of the toilet but all other towels (extra bath, face and hand cloths) are on a rack over the toilet out of reach. There is room for toiletries on the far side of the tub and there are two soap dishes, one high, one low. The tub and shower area are well-lighted.

There is room to get a wheelchair between the tub and toilet or a bench to transfer to when you are coming off a tub chair in the tub.

Room Service: The hotel has summer and winter service hours and everything is posted in your room. If breakfast is ordered by 2 a.m. the night before you can have breakfast in your room from 7 a.m. on. Regular room service is available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and on Friday and Saturday it is available 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. There is also a breakfast buffet from 7 a.m. in the beautiful Watermark Restaurant on the 33rd floor. As with most large first-class hotels you can get just about anything you want given a little lead time.

Gift Shop: There is a large gift shop on the main floor that carries everything from bathing suits to decongestants and antihistamines. Not everyone is used to the humidity at the falls.

Health Club and Pool area: There is a lovely pool available to all of the guests and it features a huge water slide. However, if you are wondering how you will get in and out of it, there is a walkway that extends into the pool with a railing and steps. If you don't walk, a wheelchair could be taken to the edge of the steps, you could be lifted to a seated position and scoot down the steps until you begin to float. You might not have such an easy time getting out though. Depending on your level of disability, the pool is possible. The hot tub and other amenities are not accessible however the lifeguard can help you shower off before you enter the pool. The exposed showering area has a small lip on it and it would not take a wheelchair. You might ask the concierge if you could shower in your room before coming down to use the pool if you cannot stand to shower before entering the pool.

Bar in lobby	Huge Hilton Pool	Steps into pool

Entrance of Watermark Restaurant	View inside Watermark Restaurant	Watermark Washroom

Watermark Restaurant: This is one beautiful restaurant. It is on the 33rd floor and most of it is accessible. Your view is the entire panorama of the falls: the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Casino Niagara construction (which is really very interesting). The breakfast buffet ($19.95 CD) is up here as well as a la carte fine dining throughout the day.

The restaurant washroom for people with disabilities is family style and large enough for a wheelchair or scooter (5'7") (1.70 metres) across.. The door swings out. The toilet is 15" (38 cm) from floor to top of the seat. It has an open sink 33" (84 cm) high with lever handled faucets, tilted mirror, two soap dispensers (one high 45") (1.14 metres), one low (38") (97 cm), paper towels and a baby change station. The door has a lever handle with the lock button in the handle. It unlocks when you work the lever handle.

There are low telephones near the washroom area.

The Watermark Lounge is on the 34th floor. It is a beautiful bar with one incredible view.

This is a lovely hotel with a great deal to enjoy. The rooms are adequate. The deep whirlpool tubs could pose a problem to those who cannot get in and out of a tub independently. The hotel's proximity to the New Casino Niagara (right across the road) will make it very popular when the casino opens. The present casino is a 10-minute walk or roll from the hotel.

Reviewed: Nov. 26, 2002